Tag Archives: EAB

Benton Master Gardener eNews

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Bookmark our page: Find newsletter archives, volunteer handbook and more volunteer opportunities at https://blogs.oregonstate.edu/activebentonlinnmg/

Share an item for eNews by contacting your program staff by the second or last Wednesday of each month. Please use this event checklist to ensure all needed information is included in your request.

Did you know you can extend your container garden to include berries? If you rent your dwelling, you can take your plants along when you move. Master Gardener volunteer Chris Smith has compiled top tips for growing blueberries and cane berries in containers.
–Pick plants that are dwarf or limited to about three feet tall
–Pick plants that are self-pollinating, that don’t require pollen from two or more bushes of different varieties to produce berries.
–Pick the right size for a container and consider placing it on a tray with wheels. That way you will be able to move the container to follow the available sunlight, and to overwinter in a protected area if your location is subject to hard freezes.
For more check out the full post:
https://blogs.oregonstate.edu/linnbentonmg/

  • Shout outs
    • Program update via Richard Riggs, Regional Director: “Elizabeth Records will be returning to her role as an Education Program Assistant supporting your groups and Brooke Edmunds will be returning in a limited capacity as the community horticulture faculty supervising Elizabeth. This is a limited-duration appointment for Brooke as we hope the legislature restores Extension’s funding in the 2023 session. If you have questions for Brooke and Elizabeth, please get in touch with them directly. A Zoom meeting for the BCMGA Board is scheduled for 9/8 at 3 pm.”
    • Via Elizabeth Records: “Hi folks, I will be out September 12 on medical leave and working from home September 13-14.”
    • Save the date: Linn County Master Gardeners will again offer in-person blue orchard bee cocoon harvesting classes. Rich Little will offer a “Train the Trainer” class at the Linn Extension office on Wednesday, September 14th from 10:00-Noon. Sign up coming soon.
    • Save the date: Graduation and Celebration 11/19/22 in Tangent.
    • Plant Sale Propagation teams will be meeting every Tuesday in September from 9:00 -11:00am near the greenhouses on the west side of Philomath High School, 2054 Applegate St. Bring gloves, pruners, your badge, and perhaps a bottle of water. No experience is necessary. We’ll get you started potting up baby plants in no time! Please RSVP to Leslie at lesliehauser107@gmail.com (or show up anyway if you forget). This year, with your help, the Plant Sale Team will be growing 60% of the propagated plants for our May Plant Sale at Philomath Highschool. The other 40% will be from a scaled-down Dig and Divide season beginning mid-September. Stay tuned for more info on how you can join us at Nellie’s house this fall! Here are the dates. Please mark your calendar.
      • September 6
      • September 13
      • September 20
      • September 27
  • Volunteers needed
    • NEW! 9/14 – Evaluating aesthetic qualities of selected landscape plants. 10am – 2pm (Arrive when convenient; ratings take about 60 min). OSU’s North Willamette Research & Extension Center in Aurora. Learn more and get directions. Report the time as “citizen science:indirect”. 
    • Anytime: Volunteer opportunity: Become a Forest Pest Detector and report observations of potentially invasive species. Report hours as “citizen science: indirect”. Master Gardener volunteers in Master Gardener Programs of Linn and Benton Counties may report time spent with training as continuing education, and times spent and spotting and reporting possible pests as “citizen science: indirect”.
    • Evening & weekends – Online Plant Clinic – check for messages on evenings and weekends. Volunteer from anywhere with an internet connection. Enroll HERE.
    • Weekdays – Office Plant Clinic sign-ups open: The office is open to the public, and volunteers can sign up for plant clinic shifts as desired, to answer client questions or practice skills. Pairs of volunteers can currently sign up in the front office again! Sign up HERE. If you’re a trainee, please wait to connect with a mentor, before enrolling.
    • Wednesdays – Trainees and other Volunteers are Welcome at the Fairgrounds Demonstration Garden. Wednesdays at 9:30 a.m.  You can access the garden through the RV park entrance to the Fairgrounds.  Sign-up is not required and drop-ins are welcome.  If you would like more information, please contact Denise Saunders at vdenisesaunders@comcast.net or Dan Dix at ddix@verizon.net
    • Find more opportunities on the Benton Volunteer Opportunities Page.
  • Continuing education opportunities:  
    • NEW! 9/14 – 2022 Dry Farming Field Day: The Oregon State University (OSU) Extension Small Farms Program is offering the 8th annual Dry Farming Field Day. Come learn about multiple dry farming research projects, taste different varieties of dry-farmed produce and visit with other growers and researchers in the Dry Farming Collaborative. Sept. 14, 4-6 p.m. at the Oak Creek Center for Urban Horticulture (844 SW 35th St., Corvallis, OR 97331). This event is free to attend but registration is required. Space is limited. Farmers and service providers: https://beav.es/ib5; gardeners: https://beav.es/ibi. For more info and registration please visit: https://smallfarms.oregonstate.edu/smallfarms/projects/dry-farming or contact Teagan Moran at 541-713-5011 or Teagan.moran@oregonstate.edu. 
    • Rich Little entomology learning ops:
    • NEW! 9/24 Fall 2022 Master Gardener BioBlitz. Grab your camera and join us on iNaturalist to capture the insects, birds, wild plants, and other wild organisms in your garden or a nearby community or public garden space. Your efforts will help to document garden biodiversity in Oregon!

BCMGA News

  • The next board meeting will be Monday, September 12, 3:00-5:00. We are looking at holding an in-person meeting but will keep the Zoom option. See the latest Board update email for in-person and online locations.
  • Community news (Please note that anything in this section is not eligible for MGV volunteer service nor endorsed by Extension, but is mentioned as a courtesy to our community.)
    • BNC (Basic Needs Center) Food Pantry Welcomes Produce from Home Gardens: The OSU BNC Food Pantry would love any extra produce from your gardens. Our community relishes fresh produce. If you have a surplus, contact the BNC (541-737-3747 / bnc@oregonstate.edu) for best time to drop off.

Benton Master Gardener eNews

Posted on by | Leave a reply

Bookmark our page: Find newsletter archives, volunteer handbook and more volunteer opportunities at https://blogs.oregonstate.edu/activebentonlinnmg/

Share an item for eNews by contacting your program staff by the first or third Wednesday of each month. Please use this event checklist to ensure all needed information is included in your request.

Do you know how to identify emerald ash borer? On June 30, 2022, emerald ash borer (EAB), an exotic beetle that infests ash trees, was discovered in Forest Grove, Oregon, marking the first confirmation of the invasive pest on the West Coast. In Oregon, the establishment of EAB could devastate whole habitat types that are dominated by Oregon ash such as ash swales and sensitive riparian zones, as well as reduce urban forest cover. This pest has proven deadly to all ash species in North America and Europe, including the native Oregon ash (Fraxinus latifolia).
  • Shoutouts
    • Continuing education opportunity: Learn how to identify EAB and how to respond if it is found locally. Earn up to 1 hour of continuing education for following these steps:
      • Be alert: It is important to stop new outbreaks before they start. Early detection, coupled with rapid response, can stop the spread of new and emerging invasive species before they become established.
      • Learn to recognize ash trees.
      • Know how to identify the emerald ash borer:
        Insect identification: Adult: 7.5 to 13.5 mm (0.3 to 0.5 inch) long, slender, and metallic olive to emerald green; active June through July Larva: 2.6 to 3.2 cm (1 to 1.3 inches) long, creamy white, with bell-shaped segments; found under the bark throughout the year; causes damage to tree by eating tissue below the bark. See photos and learn the hosts, signs and symptoms.
      • Report sightings of emerald ash borer: Report online at the Oregon Invasive Species Council hotline.
      • Share information about emerald ash borer with others, including neighbors, fellow gardeners, hikers, mushroom hunters and campers.
      • Do not move or transport ash wood: Even after a tree has died or has been cut down, there is still the possibility for the emerald ash borer to be present in the wood. Keeping the wood on the same site as the infected tree can help to slow the spread of the insect.
  • Volunteers needed
    • Demo Garden Plant Clinic at Benton County Fair 8/3 – 8/6. Various shifts for demo garden volunteers, certified volunteers, and trainees. Participants will be contacted with information on getting fair passes in advance. Sign up.
    • Online Plant Clinic – check for messages on evenings and weekends. Volunteer from anywhere with an internet connection. Enroll HERE.
    • Office Plant Clinic sign-ups open: The office is open to the public, and volunteers can sign up for plant clinic shifts as desired, to answer client questions or practice skills. Pairs of volunteers can currently sign up in the front office again! Sign up HERE. If you’re a trainee, please wait to connect with a mentor, before enrolling.
    • NEW: Plant Clinic at State Fair 9/3 – 9/4, Salem OR. Volunteers get free wristbands and parking permits. Sign up HERE.
    • Trainees and other Volunteers are Welcome at the Fairgrounds Demonstration Garden. Wednesdays at 9:30 a.m.  You can access the garden through the RV park entrance to the Fairgrounds.  Sign-up is not required and drop-ins are welcome.  If you would like more information, please contact Denise Saunders at vdenisesaunders@comcast.net or Dan Dix at ddix@verizon.net
    • Find more opportunities on the Benton Volunteer Opportunities Page.

BCMGA News

  • The next board meeting will be Monday, August 8, 3:00-5:00 via Zoom. See email for link to join.
  • BCMGA Membership Outing in August—Date TBD. The August garden tour will be something special. Most, if not all of you, are familiar with Darren Morgan of Shonnard’s Nursery and his willingness to share his knowledge when speaking at both Gearing Up for Gardening and Insights Into Gardening. Darren has agreed to open his vegetable garden in late August, and he will talk about what he’s growing and why and what he didn’t grow this year and why. We will be able to ask lots of questions and enjoy the garden of one of the preeminent vegetable and fruit authorities in the Willamette Valley. The exact date hasn’t been set yet so stay tuned for further information. For more information, contact Janet Magedanz at jkmagedanz@gmail.com
  • Community news (Please note that anything in this section is not eligible for MGV volunteer service nor endorsed by Extension, but is mentioned as a courtesy to our community.)
    • None this week.